The Honorable David L. Norquist was elected to the Board of Trustees of The Aerospace Corporation on June 3, 2021. In February 2021, he left federal service having served as the 34th deputy secretary of defense, a position he held since July 2019.
With more than 30 years of experience in federal financial management and national security, Norquist is currently the president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). He joined NDIA in May 2022. Prior to that he was a senior advisor in Washington for Covington and Burling’s aerospace and defense industry practices.
Norquist began his government career as a presidential management fellow and program budget analyst for the Department of the Army. He worked as a staffer on the Subcommittee on Defense for the House Appropriations Committee and later was deputy under secretary of defense in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense/Comptroller.
In 2006, as the first Senate-confirmed chief financial officer at the Department of Homeland Security, Norquist established sound financial processes that put the new agency on a path to a clean opinion on its financial statements.
Later, as under secretary of defense (comptroller)/chief financial officer, he aligned the Department of Defense budget to the National Defense Strategy and launched the its first full-scope financial statement audit, improving its business processes.
During his time in the private sector, Norquist was a partner at the certified public accounting firm Kearney and Company.
In recognition of his contributions, Norquist has received the Secretary of Homeland Security Outstanding Service Medal and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.
Norquist earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University. He is a certified government financial manager.